Related Content

Employees at the store in Spartanburg shook pompoms and cheered as the students entered the store Tuesday morning.

Panthers player Brenton Bersin joined two TopCats cheerleaders and the team's mascot, Sir Purr, in helping the 28 children shop for anything from backpacks to shoes.

"I'm in grad school at Indiana. I take education very seriously. I took school very seriously. It's good to have these kids getting excited to go back to school," said Bersin, a graduate of Wofford College in Spartanburg.

Thanks to the team and Academy, each child got $200 to spend in the store.

"We're truly blessed. I mean, we feel honored to come and I'm just speechless. I don't know what to say. I'm not going to cry," said Tonya Fowler, a single mother who was there to shop with her son and her cousin. "When we got selected to come and shop with the Panthers (my son) was so excited."

The event in Spartanburg was one of 100 similar events happening at Academy locations across 15 states. This one was extra-special because the Panthers are in town for training camp, which starts in Spartanburg on Thursday.

"It's fun to be back in this community, because a lot of the people here don't get to come to games in Charlotte. So, training camp is kind of like their regular season and their time to see us in person," Bersin said. "Just for them to be here and have anything to do with the team, if it's me or any other player, even seeing Sir Purr and the cheerleaders, I know it's exciting for them just to be around the team."

The participating students were chosen by the school districts.

"It helps me out tons," Fowler said. "That will take a load off of me."